Women
Right To Reproductive Health: The Woman’s Challenge
One of the basic joy of
a wife is that of motherhood. Unfortunately, a lot of factors had over the years militated against the flow of this joy resulting to mixed feelings of whether or not to be in the comity of mothers.
A major factor is the deteriorating state of the woman’s reproductive health occasioned by continued ignorance of a higher populace of women on their rights to such health. This ignorant state has over the period resulted to the woman’s unhealthy physical, social, mental and educational condition which by extension, has over affected families and society at large.
Maternal Morality or death, the death of a woman when pregnant and in the process of delivery has remained a significant outcome of the challenge to motherhood, which has not only constituted a major means of death of most expectant mothers but maintained the state of phobia in such a woman around the world.
Considering the place of the woman/mother in the posterity and well-being of the home, there is the need for her life to be sustained. To this end, the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), in conjunction with IPAS has again rise to the challenge of ensuring that the woman’s life is safe in this regard.
In a one-day community mobilisation/sensitisation/Town Hall meeting on Reproductive Health with emphasis on Post Abortion Care and Family Planning for (PHALGA), Rivers State, NAWOJ/IPAS revealed that women have the right to reproductive health thereby saving their lives not only from unhealthy state but untimely deaths.
Against the background that the woman in this part of the World has little or no right of her own in determining certain issues especially regarding childbearing and or number of children to give births to, it has become obvious that such tenet is a subtle means of the porous unhealthy state of her reproductive health.
Reproductive Health Right of the woman is the knowledge and ability of the woman challenge unhealthy reproductive steps that are capable of endangering her life particularly, that of unwanted pregnancy.
The awareness programme which had female participants drawn from different local government areas, female organisations, health ministries and health related non-governental organisations ( NGOs) revealed that the woman has the right to boldly walk up to any equipped health facility and demand for her right, specially of safe abortion in order to save her life.
Following the challenges of childbearing and training in modern times, it has become pertinent to check the level of pregnancy intake which is achieved through family planning methods and IPAs, an association which focuses on the health, rights, and access of women is of the view that a woman is supposed to know when to get pregnant and when not to and if the latter becomes the case, abortion remains the last resort and she has the right to a safe one.
In her lecture on community mobilisation, and sensitisation on Reproductive Health, the Co-ordinate, Safe Motherhood, Public Health Department, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Mrs. Mikai T.K. Amachree noted that nearly all unsafe abortions ranging to about 98 per cent occur in developing countries of which Nigeria is one stating that in almost all developed countries, safe abortions are legally available upon request or under broad social and economic grounds and services are generally easily accessible and available.
Represented by the Ministries Co-ordinator, RHIFP, Mrs. Joyce Amaewhule, Amachree said that in countries where induced abortion is legally highly restricted and or unavailable, safe abortion has frequently become the privilege of the rich while poor women have little or no choice but to resort to unsafe providers, causing deaths and morbidities that become the social and financial responsibility of the public health system.
“Over the past two decades, the health evidence, technologies and human rights rationale for providing safe, comprehensive abortion care have revolved around greatly and despite these advances, on estimated 22 million unsafe abortions continue to occur every year resulting in the death of an estimated 47,000 women and disabilities for another five million women” she said.
While noting that almost all the deaths and disabilities could have been prevented through sexuality education, family planning and the provision of safe, legal induced abortion and care for complication of abortion, Amachree maintained that in an induced or spontaneous abortion, women should receive appropriate post-abortion care.
According to her “for those women who abortions were performed unsafely, post abortion is used as strategy to attenuate the morbidity and mortality associated with complications including uterine aspiration for incomplete abortion and offer of contraceptives to prevent future unintended pregnancies.”
Gynecologist and Representative, First Land Hospital, Abia State, Dr. Okechi Ajaero noted that the millennium development Goals (MDGs), number five, focuses on improving maternal health by 2015 adding that with the date at the corner, all hands must be on deck to checkmate the occurrence.
Describing the programme as timely, Ajaero decried the increasing rate of maternal deaths, stating however, that this could be prevented when knowledge and care are placed side by side.
Ajaero averred that women in the rural areas are more exposed to the process of unsafe abortions due largely to absence of qualified medical personnel and adequate medical facilities.
“A lot of doctors have been concentrated in the urban areas at the expense of the rural areas leaving these women and young girls whose Pelvics and cervix are sometimes not well developed, at the mercy of quacks and facilities with minimal medical standard”, he stated.
Maintaining that abortion is a choice, Ajaero stressed the need for mothers/women to prevent unwanted pregnancies by taking up a family planning method saying “if there must be abortion, then it must be safe and adequate post care administered accordingly”.
Although it may sound awkward in the ears of some women and mothers in this part of the world, the fact remains that women are faced daily with the risk of maternal death and it has become imperative for them to stand tall, uphold their rights and safe their lives.
There are a number of policies with implication for maternal health service provision, such as the national health policy that has set maternal and reproductive health care as one of the priority areas with reduction of maternal morbidity and mortality as major expected outcomes and safe motherhood as a key element in the minimum health care package.
More appealing is that the Rivers State House of Assembly in 2003, passed a law legalising safe abortion in designated health centres across the state, thus, a call on Rivers and ofcourse, women resident in the state to avail themselves of the opportunity of utilising these reproductive health services available in health facilities of the state in order that the universal access to reproductive health by 2015, barely the next five of months becomes a reality.
Lady Godknows Ogbulu
Women
The Wise Woman
The wise woman builds her home. Mothers are supposed to live exemplary lives. The roles of mothers in the building of the modern Christian home cannot be overemphasized.
The function of the mother is to help the man build the home. She is a helper. A helper to the husband when the man is not doing well. It is important for the wise woman to assist when the man is not able to meet up with the items needed in the home.
A wise woman needs to reference God first and then the husband. Also the wise woman should respect her husband.
Caring for her own children as well as others is very crucial.
Do not despise children from other mothers. Discipline the child who is going the wrong way.
Ensure family bonding, show love and don’t discriminate. Connection with children is very important, especially the females. Find out who is her friend. Also find out the kind of lives they live. Caution, counsel and guide so that they make good partners.
Teaching children the dos and donts should start from birth. Inculcate the word of God in them so that when they grow, will not depart from it.
From the Scripture, some women influenced their families positively. Virgin Mary influenced the world, she never destroyed herself hence she gave birth to Jesus Christ.
Elizabeth, despite her age, God blessed her as she waited patiently.
A wise should curb favouritism in the family and love children equally. Whether a child is your biological child or not, it is necessary to show love equally. Reprimanding the children should be the function of both man and wife.
Women
The Desire Of Every Woman In Marriage
Marriage is beautiful when there is love. Before and after marriage, couples show love to themselves. But you discover that after some years, that same love turn to be something else. A lot of people start going through emotional trauma in the hands of their loved spouses.
There are many things the woman desires to keep the love on as far as marriage is concerned.
Women are blesssed with feminine abilities that can be used for good in husbands lives. With your abilities, you can create a marriage that will last till couples get old.
A woman needs
man that is honest, trustworthy, nice, loving and financially stable.
There are no two ways about finance in marriage. No matter the level of love, if there is no reasonable finance, it is always difficult to manage the home.
Referring to the Biblical belief in Genesis 3: “Your desire shall be unto you…….. “
What this means is that whatever the woman desires in life shall be provided as far as she performs her role in her home. There are many things the woman expects her husband to take care of.
A woman wants a husband that is not lazy, at least helping to do one or two things when he is at home.
A man that is educated and intelligent so that they will transfer such traits to their children.
Knowing that there are traits that her husband has, traits of taking care of people, giving freely to people and caring for her family. She expects him to exhibit them.
A woman wants to love a husband that has family interest at heart. A man that spends time with his family, remembering his family even as he is away from home.
No matter where he finds himself, he is not destracted by external influence. He returns home to his loved ones.
A woman should not antagonise her husband because of one error or the other. No matter the level of offence he may have committed, you still show some love.
According to the Scripture, it is with wisdom that a woman builds her home. As far as he rreturns home, you accept him as your own.
It is not as if the woman will not monitor her husband, but to certain limit. Don’t be a monitoring spirit. Don’t allow anything to take your joy.
Don’t loose trust in your husband. The idea of checking your husband’s phone should be discouraged. The more you check your husband and his phone, the more you loose your joy.
You can show some form of jealousy, but to an extent. Cooperation, respect and being honoured from time to time is what the woman desires.
The home should not be a battle ground for a woman and man. A woman should be able to ask herself if the check on her husband will pay her any good.
Draw a line to a point where you checkmate your husband’s activities.
A woman wants a man that will love her and telling her you love her will be all she desires.
Women
The Desire Of Every Woman In Marriage
A woman needs a man that is honest, trustworthy, nice, loving and financially stable.
There are no two ways about finance in marriage. No matter the level of love, If there is no money, it is always difficult.
Referring to the Biblical belief in Genesis 3:Your desire shall be unto you……..
That is one aspect the woman expects her husband to take care of.
A woman wants a husband that is not lazy, at least helping to do one or two things. A man that is educated and intelligent.
She knows that there is a trait that her husband has. Traits of taking care of people, giving freely to people and caring for her family.
A woman wants to love a husband that has family interest at heart. A man that spends time with his family, remembering his family even as he is away from home.
A woman should not antagonise her husband because of one error or the other. No matter the level of offence he may have committed, you still show some love.
According to the Scripture, it is with wisdom that the women builds her home.
It is not as if the woman will not monitor her husband, but to certain limit. Don’t be a monitoring spirit. Don’t allow anything to take your joy.
Don’t loose trust in your husband.
The idea of checking your husband’s phone should be discouraged. The more you check your husband and his phone, the more you loose your joy.
The home should not be a battle ground for a woman and man. A woman should be able to ask herself if the check on her husband will pay her any good.
Draw a line to a point where you checkmate your husband’s activities.
A woman wants a man that will love her and telling her you love her will be all she desires.
Eunice Choko-Kayode
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